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SUVs Saturn VUE Saturn VUE Brakes and Rotors
13 messages, Last post on Nov 07, 2008 at 9:10 AM
You are in the Saturn VUE Forum. Your Hosts are steve_ & tidester
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I have been a mechanic for many years, however I have never worked on a view. I just purchased a new 2007, so I will soon have Vue experience. With having said that, I will say, I have never seen rotors go out of round on their own. Usually it is caused by improper tightening of the lug nuts. If you use an impact wrench improperly, you can warp them in a hurry. I have never heard of warping rotors any other way. I do suspect the early Saturns had a problem with their rotors, as there is a brake guy on ebay selling drilled rotors and special pads to improve their efficiency. I would start with making sure no one ever puts on my wheels with an impact wrench. You can use an impact wrench if you know what you're doing, but too many shlock places don't have a clue how to do it properly. If you need to replace the rotors, go get the good cross drilled rotors. The drilled rotors will reduce the heat. Heat is the enemy of efficient braking.
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Replying to: donn2390 (Oct 15, 2007 5:31 pm) |
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| Many parts stores sell 2 different specs. of rotors for the same vehicle. the thinner ones are considered throw aways after one set of pads are worn out and cannot be cut. My daughter drives a Maxima and has warped rotors after 12k miles of driving with ceramic pads. From my experience rotors will warp from hard braking on any vehicle. | |
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Replying to: rob111 (Aug 17, 2007 11:57 am) |
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Since installing the drilled(not all the way through) /slotted(not all the way through) rotors that have a lifetime warranty for $175/pair (I have to keep the old rotors around in order to return these if need be), I have had no issues. They were a bit noisy to start but have quieted down since then. I figure that must be how they brake in....ha. I expect to never change rotors on this vehicle again. It only took about an hour and a half to change them out myself and no special tools were required. But if you havent changed pads on a caliper before, remember to expand the caliper while it is on the rotor using a large screwdriver or lug wrench like piece of metal. You need to make the pistons go back into the caliper so the assembly will fit around the pads and the rotor when you put it back on. Cheers, Rob
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Replying to: rob111 (Nov 29, 2007 11:01 am) |
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Replying to: donn2390 (Oct 15, 2007 5:31 pm) |
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Hi Don; I guess if I were going from 10-80-10 mph, I might have more problems that I have. You might want to lay off that Starbucks in the morning.... Cheers. |
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Hi everyone, I own a 2004 VUE REDLINE I am the only driver and I have 106k on my VUE. I have replaced the brakes about every 11k. The first set of rotors were replaced at 5k. The dealership claims its my driving style, yet, I read here everyone else is having this problem. Please Please Complain to Saturn. I think a recall is in order here. Here is my letter to Saturn: Dear Saturn Customer Care, I am writing you this letter to describe the utter disgust I have with your Company. I was treated unacceptably, and potentially my life was put in danger by the utter negligence that was show by Saturn of Elmhurst over the past 4 visits to the dealership. I am also writing this letter because I feel that there is a some major defects on this vehicle that have been regularly pointed out since its in service Date (12/13/2004). At the time this occurred my VUE had about 85k miles on it. I have been complaining for the last 15k miles of a wobbly growling noise from my car. I mentioned it to the Service writer Todd, It sounded exactly like the noise at 72k mark. He told me that my front wheel bearing were replaced at that time and he would take a look at the stopped by on a Saturday to have them look at it, and I was told that they were unable to look at the car. I brought the car in for a oil change, and I had a list of other things, that needed to be checked this was around 98k. It was upon this visit that I was told they could not reproduce the noise. I had a few other concerns and I was told they didn’t have time to look at them I would have to drop the car off, and rent a car at my own cost. I also asked that a Transmission service be performed and it was not. Irritated I returned at 99k and waited for the car. Having been brushed off once, I insisted that I speak with the Technician who was performing as service. When go into the car, and we drove for approximately 3 miles in a mixed loop around the dealership, it was during the test drive that the technician told me that it was tire noise, not bearings. I argued with him saying that diagnosis is in correct and I would not accept it. When we returned to the dealership, the writer asked the Tech for the diagnosis, and he said it was merely tire noise, I was then told that it was tire noise only and there was nothing else wrong with the vehicle and it was time to think about trading it in. I was appalled, and humiliated. I was treated as if I was crazy for insisting there was something wrong with my car. Because I knew there was some severe mechanical problems with the car, I drove it directly to the Tire shop and had them replace 4 tires prematurely, to prove that there was a larger problem at hand. I had a similar experience at 72k in which I was told the warped rotor was tire noise, it was also at that point I was told I needed to purchase tires before the car would be looked at. It ended up being rotors then at the 72k example. On the way home from the tire place, I called Todd from SOE and indicated that there was new tires and the noise still existed. I requested that my car be looked at first thing in the morning. I was greeted the next morning at the entrance to the drive bay and I was told that they wouldn’t look at my car today and I was already told there was nothing wrong with it, and I wanted to be looked I needed to talk to Todd. I returned the following day, this time parking my car in the visitor lot and I approached Kevin (Service Manager) He knew exactly who I was, and he told me that He indicated to Todd that SOE would replace my wheel bearings, but if that wasn’t the cause of the noise, he will would bill me instead of the Extended warranty company, after looking at the car 4 times, they found nothing wrong. He further told me if I felt I wasn’t being served to my satisfaction, that I could take the car to another dealership Kevin was very insistent that I goto Saturn of Glenview. This is totally unacceptable behavior for any professional. I told Kevin, I never claimed that the bearings were faulty, I claimed there was a noise. And Todd had been the person to perform the diagnosis. I also mentioned that I just spent 750 dollars on new tire per SOE recommendation to solve the problem and it did nothing but lighten my wallet. Kevin seemed un-phased and brushed me off. SOE was aware that I was butting up against my 100k warranty and it appeared as if there goal was for these repairs to come out of my pocket. I have never had such a unacceptable experience in my life with any Car Dealer. I took my car to SOE because its where I purchased it, and I felt dealership loyalty was key. I worked only 5 mins from Saturn of Libertyville, and I called them on my lunch break and they agreed to take a look at the car. I stopped off while at lunch and took a drive with a Tech. We didn’t even get out of the parking lot when he confirmed that one if not both Wheel bearings were faulty. The tech stated, I could tell from driving it across the parking lot, and then confirmed that he was almost certain, but needed to take the car about to be 100% positive. SOL arranged for me to get a rental, and within a couple of hours it was confirmed at least one bearing was bad, the part was ordered, and they needed to keep the car. The next day, I got a phone call to let me know that the other front wheel bearing needed to be replaced but since it had already been done; an adjuster was needed to verify the claim. I found this odd, since according to my 72k mile paperwork, both bearing had been done not just one. It took Saturn of Libertyville a couple of days to work out the logistics of getting the repair paid for, and the extended warranty company required a auditor to evaluate the car. The extended warranty concurred that the wheel bearings on both the front sides needed replacement. In addition to the bearings being faulty, I was told that I had only 5% of my brakes left, and I needed new front rotors. Saturn of Libertyville indicated they were unsafe, and cutting the rotors would be unsafe, yet I had the rotors cut by SOE on at least 2 other occasions. See below under brake section for details, but the Rotors, not the pads, were replaced at 80k miles. This is unacceptable wear, for ANY vehicle. I gave Saturn of Elmhurst 4 attempts to fix this automobile, and the way I was treated, was unacceptable, unprofessional and blatantly RUDE. They sent me off in an automobile with faulty wheel bearings, and brakes with less than 5% of pad left. It makes me wonder what other maintenance on my car was not repaired correctly through out its life. Below please find a description of other problems related to maintenance of my VUE. I purchased my 2004 Saturn VUE Redline December 13, 2004 from Saturn of Elmhurst (SOE). This is my second Saturn and the ownership of this VUE has been more costly than I |
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To my VueBlues "Brothers" - Just experienced a new problem with my 2004 FWD V6 Vue - weird thunk when pressing on the brakes. This occurs when first press the brake, and is not continual. But is experienced everytime the brake is pressed. Currently have 96k on car, and have replaced brakes 1x (obviously I am a light braker), and tires 1x. BTW - also experience a variety of other thunks and rattles, which seems standard in the Vue! Anyone experience this brake issue? At the moment the car is at the mechanic's being checked. |
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